Jake Majors' return functions as a likely harbinger of extremely potent offense
By Lawton Paddock: The Texas Longhorns are lucky to have abundant continuity on the offensive line in 2024, with four of the five starters returning for their upperclassmen years. While each of them respectively give the fans something to be excited about, one of the more overlooked returnees is center Jake Majors, a fifth-year senior who has been a full-time starter dating back to 2021.
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When looking at years past, established centers have a major correlation with both offensive and overall team success. Experience at the center position is perhaps most important on the offensive line because it is the most intellectual position, requiring thorough general cognizance and understanding of the offense.
Majors has been through it all during the ascent of Texas football under Steve Sarkisian; the Longhorns have progressed from a losing team with a problematic locker room in 2021 to a College Football Playoff appearance in January 2024. Observers of the team’s progress are aware of the correlation between Majors’ continued development and persistent team success; over his five-year college career, Majors has consistently improved, coinciding with Texas’s annual win-loss advances during his tenure as a starter.
Of course, it would be negligent to attribute all of Texas’s recent success to Majors, given the many holistic advancements in the program made in the past three years. However, the correlation is undeniable, and this connection of competent, experienced centers and Longhorn success has been a trend for quite some time now.
The last time Texas had a center with as much as experience as Majors was 2019, Zach Shackelford’s final year as a Longhorn. In Shackelford’s upperclassmen seasons, the Texas offense of the Tom Herman era reached its peak. 2018 and 2019 constituted both of Sam Ehlinger’s best statistical passing years and the most team success of the 2010s with the Sugar Bowl win against the Georgia Bulldogs. Shackelford’s departure in 2020 significantly weakened the offensive line, which translated to a lack of team success as Herman was consequently fired after the season’s conclusion.
A similar trend can be noticed with former star center Chris Hall dating back to the Mack Brown era. Hall, who was an upperclassman in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, was the chief of the offensive line during most of Colt McCoy’s uber-productive seasons. After his departure (along with many others) in 2010, the Longhorns plummeted from national runner-ups to bowl ineligibility, marking their first losing season in 13 years.
In conclusion, each successful stint of Texas football in recent memory has centered around a formidable offense, which in turn invariably possesses an equally formidable center as one of its cornerstones. Essentially the quarterback of the offensive line, the center position is undervalued by fans, yet has silently been the staple of successful Longhorn offenses for years.
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Thus, with the offense poised to explode in 2024, seasoned continuity at the position bodes well for Texas as aspiring national champions this fall
